Marketplacer
Simplifying Online Marketplaces

As the pandemic spread across the globe, consumer behavior started to alter. In Australia, the lockdown hit hospitality brands the worst as their business depended on footfall. Most retailers did not possess the technology to move their operations online and were thrown into a tailspin. Shane Delia, a restaurant and business owner, saw an opportunity to initiate home-delivery services that would help local businesses deliver their delicacies safely to their customers. But there existed the challenge of swiftly developing a scalable online platform that could mobilize various hospitality businesses and enable them to connect with their clientele more effectively while attracting new customers.

Shane partnered with Marketplacer—a global technology company with headquarters in Australia—and developed Providoor, a premium online food delivery service. The platform boosted the business of over fifty eateries in Melbourne, empowering them to generate additional revenue that they wouldn't have otherwise. The high-end dinning capacity also expanded, welcoming a large number of new customers as well. The company, today, is one of the fastest-growing marketplaces that connects restaurants and diners and processes over 230,000 orders weekly. This is just one of the several customer success stories highlighting how Marketplacer helps its clients set up their online markets.

Traditionally, third-party marketplace involved onboarding many employees to create and manage an efficient and profitable operating model, hence giant companies dominated the space. But that is no more the case today. Courtesy to new technologies, people are selling goods they don't own by converting their websites into selling platforms—this gives rise to ta new generation of third party marketplaces run not just by industry giants, but by community groups, brands, retailers and individuals. Explaining the challenges faced today, Jim Stirewalt, President of Marketplacer US, adds, "The biggest challenge today is to empower an organization that hasn't worked in a physical marketplace environment to create streamlined internal operations that gather resources, attract new customers, and onboard new vendors." Marketplacer solves this challenge by offering its expertise in developing efficient and scalable online third-party marketplaces.

Acclaimed as one of the world's leading providers of online marketplace solutions, the company offers a plug-and-play platform that enables its clients to create their own unified online marketplace. Developing an online marketplace is expensive, let alone maintaining and upgrading its functionalities and capabilities. Additionally, small and medium businesses may not possess an online platform or the expertise to develop one. Such companies can set up their online marketplaces and scale-up in an affordable manner using Marketplace's solutions. Even larger businesses that have sophisticated e-commerce operations can integrate their platform with these solutions. Explaining the company's highly consultative approach to implementation, Jim explains, "Rather than just presenting our solutions and technologies, we partner with our clients to define their ‘unfair advantage’, and identify the best methodology that will guarantee ROI." Understanding that different businesses have different characteristics, Marketplacer develops unique strategies for each of its clients, tailored to their specific requisites, and offers a wide range of additional functionalities.

Marketplacer's clients can create a holistic platform from which customers can purchase their products and save a large margin of profit that they otherwise would have paid a third-party e-commerce provider. The platform allows customers to compare products, check stocks, and create data insights for the business. Marketplacer's API (Application Processing Interface), PIM (Product Information Management system) and other tools enable its clients to seamlessly integrate third-party seller systems such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Neto, and Lightspeed.

Rather than just presenting our solutions and technologies, we partner with our clients to define their secret sauce, and identify the best methodology that will guarantee ROI

Clients can employ the Marketplace’s M-Seller portal to leverage additional revenue sources such as memberships, lead generation, ads, private listings and many more. Clients can also utilize the membership benefits to create a community that can benefit from personalized content and product selections, fostering a sense of loyalty among customers. As online marketplaces sometimes generate fragmented reports, Marketplacer's platform generates comprehensive analytics and insights on buying trends, brand awareness and sales, providing transparency to client's operations. The company has a diverse clientele and a reputation for being customer-centric.

Shedding light on the company's motto, Jim adds, "Our general cultural attitude is customer success at all costs. We forge long term relationships with our clients, and they receive more than just mere technology." With a customer-centric attitude, the company enables its clients to test various methodologies, determine the best-suited solutions, and scale up significantly. One such customer is SurfStitch--a surfing apparel brand. Having direct access to a very specific audience interested in surfing, the company saw an opportunity to up-sell. The challenge was to up-scale their existing portal to expand their product portfolio while maintaining a high-level customer experience. Marketplacer developed an API-based marketplace for them within 40 days of entering into a partnership with SurfStitch. The portal enabled SurfStitch to rapidly onboard new vendors and increase its revenue by a large margin. Today, the company sells over 500 brands and aims to extend its product catalogue into Homewares, Activewear, and several other categories. Elaborating on the reason behind SurfStitch's success, Jim says, "We have done something meaningful for every customer we've worked with. We eliminate the hurdles that limit their growth and offer a frictionless experience." Marketplacer also allows its clients to have complete control over their data. As a result, clients can glean insights and unlock new opportunities and can curate the customer experience to their desire. The company has several partners and investors such as Salesforce commerce cloud, Instagram, Avalara, and Shippit. Marketplacer has gained a lot of traction in the US, and several brands have displayed enthusiasm in partnering with them.

Combs Enterprises has announced the project SHOP CIRCULATE, which is a marketplace for black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs. The project will be powered by Marketplacer and co-created between the companies and Deloitte Digital and Salesforce. From a growth perspective, Marketplacer isn't limiting itself to the US and Australia. It already has begun its plans for expansion in other countries. From a product standpoint, the company will continue to invest in product development to add additional functionalities. Marketplacer is helping several brands break the barriers of the traditional retail marketplace and leverage the benefits of online marketplaces. As Jim concludes, "Our product team is finding new capabilities of our platform. Our growth goals include impacting and helping others to develop this nascent market. Our vision is to become the preferred platform for leading global marketplaces."